1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to USB flash drives and, more particularly, to an improved USB connector extension/retraction device for protecting a USB connector of a USB flash drive.
2. Description of Related Art
As computer technology continuously improves and evolves, computer peripherals are also enhanced in design so as to have increased efficiency and reduced volume for high portability.
Nowadays, USB flash drives are the mainstream of portable storage devices for use with computers. USB flash drives are highly popular because of their large storage capacities and small volumes, which translates to increased portability. A USB flash drive typically has a USB connector to be inserted into and thus coupled with a computer so as to transmit, read, and write data to and from the computer. However, the USB connector protrudes from the main body of the USB flash drive and may be damaged when the USB flash drive is dropped to the ground. Therefore, referring to FIG. 1, a commercially available USB flash drive 10 has a protective structural design based on back-and-forth movement and composed mainly of a cover 20 provided around the main body of the USB flash drive 10 such that the main body of the USB flash drive 10 can move back and forth inside the cover 20 and be secured in place for protection. More specifically, by pushing a rear end of the main body of the USB flash drive 10, the main body is moved forward so as to be secured at a predetermined position, and in consequence a USB connector 101 of the USB flash drive 10 is exposed outside the cover 20 for insertion into a computer. When the rear end of the main body of the USB flash drive 10 is pushed again, the main body, which is biased by a spring, retracts automatically so as to hide the USB connector 101 inside the cover 20 for protection.
While the aforesaid structure is capable of protecting the USB connector 101, a good number of components are involved so that the volume of the USB flash drive 10 as well as the labor and cost required for assembly is increased. Hence, the USB flash drive 10 is undesirably thick and cannot be reduced in length.